Men remembered here
The linked biographies identify each man’s connection with this workplace. This is a partial list; the men may have served in different years.
Frederick James MORGAN
A Toronto teamster, husband of Florence and father of two children.
Read his storyWalter Rupert SHAW
A steamfitter, born in London, whose wife Beatrice was named in his attestation.
Read his storyNiel Donald WILKINSON
An unmarried carpenter from Galt, Ontario. His attestation spells his given name Neil Donald.
Read his storyWhat the men did here
Hospital staff handled patients, maintained the stables, assisted treatment and prepared animals for further movement. Morgan’s civilian work as a teamster gave him experience with teams of horses.
Morgan died at Le Havre; Shaw’s casualty card places his death in an air raid at Rouen. Wilkinson is buried at Bramshott in England. These places do not establish where each man served throughout his hospital posting.
Where it fitted
Canada’s field sections and evacuation arrangements worked within the larger Imperial network. Canadian animals could be treated in British establishments; national corps membership alone does not identify the hospital used.
Here the links follow recorded service with the Canadian hospital. Its number is separate from the British No. 1 Veterinary Hospital.
Brief history and command
The unit developed from a Montreal veterinary section and became No. 1 Veterinary Hospital at Le Havre on 10 April 1915. LAC lists its diary for April 1915 to March 1919, RG 9 III-D-3, volume 5044.
LAC names Captain T. C. Evans at the Montreal section’s mobilisation. This does not establish a complete wartime hospital command succession.
Historical material
Wilkinson’s attestation records the carpenter behind the military profile: his civilian trade, birthplace, declared birth date, next of kin and signature. It is a personal service document, rather than evidence of a particular hospital task.
Algernon Talmage’s Wounded Horses Returning from the Front, France, 1918, offers wider visual context. Talmage spent time at the Canadian hospital; this painting depicts a mobile veterinary party on the road to an evacuation station.
6 April 1915. Attestation of Neil Donald Wilkinson, service number 49530. The commemorative record uses Niel Donald. Library and Archives Canada, attestation image. His profile explains the unresolved age difference. Select the page to read it at full size.
Sources and further reading
- Library and Archives Canada, Canadian Army Veterinary Corps unit guide, printed pp. 1 and 12–13.
- Veterans Affairs Canada, Frederick James Morgan.
- Shaw’s supplied casualty card and the current reviewed Canadian profiles. Wilkinson’s unit follows the commemorative record; full posting dates remain unverified.